Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1887-01-15
arts. is disyusted with the crucinI that the

priest holds before him because 1t Is such
poor specimen Of sculpture. And 90. some
times through taste and sometimes through
learned menace and sometimes through ply
sicaI distresses, ave, In ten thousand ways,
troubles come to harass and annoy. And yet
Il IA unfair to measure a mans life by his mis-
fortunes because where there Is one stalk OF
night shade there are fifty marigOlds and hare
bells; where there is one cloud thunder
charged there are hundreds that stray across
the heavens, the glory of land and sky asleep
in their bosom. Because death came and
took YOUR child away did you Immediately for
get all the five years or the ten years, or the
fifteen years in which she came every night Tor
q kiss all the tones Of your heart pealing
forth al the sound OF her voice or the soft
touch Of her handl Because in some financial
Euroclyden your fortune went into the break
ers did you forget all these years in when lhe
Injuries and eXtravagances OF life snoWeTeu
on your pathway Alas! that Is an un"lse
man, an ungrateful man, an unfair man, an
unphilosophic man, and most OF al, an ui,-
cbristian man. who measures his life on earth
bv proaps, and tears, and dyspeptlc nj, and
abuse, and scorn, and terror, ana neuralgic
thrust.
THE TRUE VALUE OF MONEY.
AGAIN. / remark that there are many peo-
pie who estimate their life on earth py the
amount of money they have accumulated;
They saw: 'The year 1866, or 1Si6, or 1886
was wasted. Whyt Made no money" Now,
Il IA all cant and insincerity to talk against
money as though 1t had no value. 1t is refine
ment and education, and ten thousand blessed
surroundings. 1t is the spreading oil the Ia
bic that feeds your children's hunger. 1t Is
the making Of the bed on which YOU rest from
care aud anxiety. 1t is the carrying out at
last of YOU to decent sepulture. and the putting
ND Of the slab on which Is chiseled the story
OF your Christian hope. 1t Is simple hypocrisy,
this TRADE in pulpit and lecture hall against
A.. u. "a l. n :
and feet and sails, and ten thousand grand ana
glorious enterprises. But while all this Is 80,
he who uses money, or thinks OF money as
ANYTHING but means to an end Will md out
his mistake when the glittering treasures slip
out of his nerveless grasp and he goes out OF
this world without shilling OF money or
certificate Of stock. He might better have
been the Christian porter that opened his gate,
or the begrimed workman who last night heav-
ed the coal into his cellar. Bonds and mort
CAGES and leases have their use, but they
make poor yardstick with which TO measure
life They that boast themselves in their
wealth and trust on the multitude OF their
riches, none Of them can, by any means, re-
deem his brother, nor give TO God ransom
for him, that he should not see corruption.
'sWise men die, likewise the fool and the
british person perish, and leave their wealth
to others"
MEASURING LIFE BIZ GOOD ACTS.
But remark: There are many-I wish there
were uore-who estimate their life by their
moral and spiritual development It Is not
sin full egotsm for Christian man to say, u
am purer than used TO be. am more conse-
Grated 10 Christ than used to be. have got
over A great many Of the bad habits In which
| used TO indulge. / am great deal better
| m an than used to be-" There is no sinful
| epoti.rn In that 1t is not base egotism for Q
soldier to saw: II know more about military
tactics than used to before | took musket
| in nv hand and learned to present arms and
when was pest TO the drill officer" IL Is
| not base egotism for a sailor to saw, II know
| how better to Glow down the mizzen topsail
| than used to before had ever seen ship"
And there is no sinful egotisn when q Chris
| tian man. fighting the battles OF the Lord, or
| II you will have it, voyaging toward haven
| of eternal rest, saws: Il know more about
| spiritual tactics and about voyaging toward
| heaven than used to-" Why, there are those
| In this presence who have measured lances
| with many foe and endorsed it. There are
| Christian men here who have become swarthy
| BY hammering at the forge Of calamity. They
| stand on an entirely different plane OF charac-
/ ter from that which they once occupied. They
are measuring their life on earth by golden
gated Sabbaths, by pentecostsl prayer-meet-
1 fups. by communion tables, by baptismal fonts,
| BY hallelujahs in the temple. They have stood
| on Sinai and heard 1t thunder. They have
| stood In Pisgah and looked over into the prom
/
seen the Cross bleed. They can. like Paul the
apostle, write ON their heaviest trouble.
slight" and but for moment" The darkes
night their soul is irradated, as was the night
over Bethlehem, By the faces OF those who
have come to proclaim glory and good cheer
| They are only waiting for the gate TO open
and the chains to fall of, and the glory to be
gin.
WORKING WHOLLY FOR CHRIST.
I remark again: There are many (and
wish there were more) who are estimating liz
bv the amount of good they can do. Johi
Bradford said he counted that day nothing a
all in which he had not, by pen or tongue
done some good. II man begin right, cal
| not tell how many tears he NAV wipe away
how many burdens he may lift, how man.
orphans he may comfort, how many outcast
he NAV reclaim. There have been men VIII
have given their whole life in the right direc
ton, concentrating all their wit and ingenuity
and mental acumen, aud physical force AM
enthusiasm for Christ. They climbed tn
mountain, and delved the mine, and crosse'
the sea, and trudged the desert, and droppe
at last into martyrs graves, waiting for tn
resurrection Of the just They measured thei
! lives by the chains they broke of, by the gar
ments they put on nakedness, BY the mile
, they Travelled TO alleviate every kind Of suffer
ing. They felt in the thrill of every nerve, i
! the motion of every muscle, in every throb
their heart, in every respiration of their lungs
| the magnlncenJ lfuJn. No ndu l'cbu IL
himself" They went through cold and throug
heat, foot-blistered. cheek-smitten, back
scouraged, tempest-lashed, to do their Who'll
! duty. That Is the way they measured life
by the amount of good they can do. Do 20
: want to know how old Luther was, how oil
Richard Baxter was, how old Philip Doddridg
vast Why, you could not calculate the lengt
5 Of their lives by any human arithmetic. Ad
? to their lives ten thousand times ten thousan
years and you have not expressed it-whs
E they have lived or will live. o, what a stani
. | ard that is to measure a mans life byl Their
1 | are those in this house who think thay hay
D lived only thirty years. They will have live
e q thousand yeSrs-they have lived a Thousand
: There are those who think they are 50 years
T age. They have not even entered upon the
9 infancy, for one must become babe In Chri
s to begin at all.
!; GREAT FIELD FOR ALL MEN.
b Now, do not know what your advantage
D or disadvantages are: j do not know VIII
e your tact or talent is; do not know VIII
r ma be the fascin alton Of your manners or u
r responsiveness Of them, but know thf
u There is for You, nv nearer, a field to cultur
q harvest to reap, a tear to wipe away, a so
q to save. II you have worldly means, cons
\ | crate them to Christ. III you have eloQuenc
e use IL on the side that Paul and Wilberfor
y used theirs. II you have learning, put 1t
\ into the poor-box Of the worlds suffering. b
!, II you have none OF tnese-neither wealth, y
d eloquence nor learning-you at any rate ha
d a smile with which you can encourage {
d disheartened, frown with which you m
! blast injustice, voice with which you m
q call the wanderer back to God. o." you sa
J, "that is q very sanctimonious view OF life
n 1t is not 1t Is the only bright view Of Iii
and it is the only bright view of death. Cc
trast the death scene of man who has mes
i ured life by the worldly standard with
l. death scene of man who has measured j